1835.] First Astronomer-Royal 423 



ously spread to his prejudice. It happened soon after, Mr. 

 Hodgson being at a meeting spied this person there, at 

 the other side of the room ; and therefore gave the paper 

 to one, that stood in some company betwixt them, to be 

 handed to him. But the gentleman, mistaking his request, 

 handed it to the Secretary [Dr. Sloane] who, being a Physi- 

 cian, and not acquainted with astronomical terms, did not 

 read it readily. Whereupon another in the company took 

 it out of his hands; and, having read it distinctly, desired 

 that the works therein mentioned might be recommended 

 to the Prince : the charge of printing them being too great 

 either for the author or the Royal Society. Sir Isaac closed 

 in with this. 



[Here ends the document from which the above portion 

 of the history is taken.] 



I had been acquainted with Mr. Newton ever since the 

 year 1674; had given him the diameters of the planets 

 observed by me at Derby in the years 1671, 72, and 73 ; as 

 also the greatest elongations of Jupiter's satellites ( of both 

 which he made use in his Principia) ; and, since I came to 

 London, the line of the great comet of the years 1680 and 

 81 ; affirming that the comet which was seen in November 

 before was the same with that I observed in the following 

 December : which he would not then grant, but contended 

 earnestly that they were two different ones, as appears by a 

 couple of very long letters of his to me, dated Feb. 28, 

 1680-1, and April 16, 1681. In which opinion he persisted 

 till September 1685 ; when, in a letter dated the 19th of 

 that month, he writes, " I have not yet computed the orbit 

 of a comet, but am now going about it, and taking that of 

 1680 into fresh consideration. It seems very probable that 

 those of November and December were the same comet.'* 

 This is what he before contended against with some viru- 

 lency, but he had no mind to remember it, and at that time 

 I took no great notice of it, till I found when his Principia 

 were published in 1687, and therein a draught of the comet's 

 orbit, he was pleased to acknowledge that I had disputed 

 that the comets seen in November and December were one 

 and the same ; and that I had given him the line of its way 

 not much different from his parabolical one there described. 

 Whereas himself had disputed against their being one, and 



